Ch.437That’s Me Right There!

Agnes Menesilia.

Daughter of Menes.

When we heard that the candidate for sainthood of the Church of Menes, whom we’d only heard about in stories, had come to visit late at night, Lacy and I greeted her with expressions mixed with confusion and curiosity.

“Lacy ‘Elmaine’ Stardolf…. I’ve heard many rumors, but this is the first time we’re meeting in person. Let me introduce myself. I am Agnes Menesilia.”

Agnes entered Lacy’s office, removed the hood she had been wearing, and bowed her head toward Lacy.

So this is the candidate for sainthood that the Church of Menes has been keeping hidden.

They said she was younger than Lacy… but not as young as I had expected.

I thought she would be around Lena’s age.

Judging by her face, which was losing its youthful appearance, and her height, which wasn’t much different from Millia’s, she was probably around fifteen or sixteen years old.

“And the person beside you must be Lord Median, known as the Winter Assassin? I’ve heard that our church received much help from you in Holon. The same was true in Faelrun. On behalf of the church, I express my deepest gratitude.”

Agnes turned her gaze from Lacy and looked at me, bowing her head once more.

Her tone was several times more polite than before.

It was almost embarrassing to be the one receiving such thanks.

“You’re too kind. It was all thanks to the support from the Church of Menes. If anything, I should be the one thanking you.”

I responded appropriately while examining her carefully.

Her sharp eyes seemed more suited to a Paladin than a Priest, and beneath her robe, her body appeared to have the firm muscles of a warrior who had undergone rigorous training.

The typical physique of a swordsman.

Moreover, she even had a sword belt visible at her waist.

Since I was the only one allowed to bring weapons into Lacy’s office, the sword itself had been removed from its scabbard.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Menesilia. I heard you wanted to see me. May I ask why you’ve come at such a late hour?”

Lacy welcomed Agnes with a smile while subtly reproaching her for the time, as if asking if she knew what time it was.

It didn’t seem to have much effect, though.

Whether she didn’t understand Lacy’s reproach or simply chose to ignore it,

Agnes merely glanced at the night sky outside the window. With an utterly nonchalant attitude.

“Well, it’s difficult to meet secretly during the day, isn’t it? There are too many eyes watching, and Elmaine is such a busy person. I apologize if I’ve been rude. But please understand that I’ve come to discuss something of great importance.”

This woman seems to have quite a strong personality.

She was completely different from the typical image of a ‘saint’ that one might imagine.

Well, come to think of it, Lacy herself is also far from the typical image of a saint.

Is this normal in this neighborhood?

“…Please, have a seat. I’d like to hear what important matter has brought you to me under the cover of night.”

Lacy’s expression hardened slightly as she gestured toward the sofa opposite her.

She had been showing a strangely sharp attitude since earlier… though she had given up on becoming a saint, it seemed that even Lacy found it difficult to maintain her composure with a former rival before her.

“Thank you for your hospitality. Then, excuse me.”

Agnes smiled lightly and walked over with confident steps, sitting demurely on the sofa.

The fact that she only followed etiquette when sitting down seemed even stranger than not following etiquette at all.

It was as if she had learned proper manners but hadn’t finished learning them.

—-

“Well then, let’s get straight to the point. As I mentioned earlier, what brings you here? If you’re looking to form an alliance with us again, we welcome it, but there are several conditions-“

“I’m not here to play political games.”

Lacy’s words were cut off by the immediate rebuttal.

Her face even turned slightly red, as if the phrase “political games” had struck a nerve.

Well, even I thought her manner of speaking was more like a politician deeply immersed in worldly affairs than a candidate for sainthood.

She must have felt embarrassed to be called out on this by another candidate for sainthood.

“…I apologize. Yes, you’re right. I was presumptuous. Oh, Elpinel. I suppose I’ve been unconsciously influenced by dealing with such people lately. I should reflect on this.”

Seeing her rambling and even making the sign of the cross, it seemed she was much more embarrassed than I had thought.

This was quite an unusual sight for Lacy.

“I was also a bit too direct. I’ve been advised several times to restrain my blunt manner of speaking… but it’s not easy. I apologize.”

Agnes nodded slightly toward Lacy, then picked up the teacup on the table to wet her throat.

“Anyway, as you wish, I’ll get straight to the point. The reason I’ve come here is because of the assassination of Paulus Eisen Hindenburg, who was the cardinal of our church.”

Her manner of speaking was strange.

Despite talking about the death of someone who was like a father to her, Agnes’s tone conveyed neither respect for the deceased nor the sadness one would expect when discussing a tragedy.

Even her expression was excessively calm.

As if she were saying that someone who deserved to die had finally died.

Lacy seemed to have a similar impression, tilting her head slightly.

“You mean Cardinal Paulus? His murder is regrettable, but we know very little about it. All we know is that, contrary to what has been publicly stated, it’s unlikely that Cardinal Wolfgang of the Church of Volberg is the real culprit…”

“That’s obviously a lie. I was so dumbfounded to see such nonsense being boldly proclaimed. The Church of Volberg killed Cardinal Paulus? How could that be possible?”

Agnes snickered.

As if mocking the cardinals who had tried to cover up the situation with false accusations and lies.

And then.

“I killed him.”

The following statement was truly shocking.

—-

“Uh, what…? What did you just say…?”

A statement that made even Lacy, who had been listening, doubt her ears.

At the sudden revelation of the true culprit, I dropped cigarette ash on my thigh, and Lacy nearly spat out the holy water she was drinking.

“I said I killed him. I simply approached him from behind and slit his throat. It was easier than I expected.”

Agnes made a gesture of slitting her throat with the edge of her hand, maintaining an utterly nonchalant attitude as if asking what the problem was.

What’s the problem? Everything from start to finish is a problem.

A candidate for sainthood eliminated her own cardinal? In other countries, wouldn’t that be considered patricide?

Of course, Lacy also got rid of Cardinal Drexler… but unlike Lacy, who merely forced him to “retire,” this woman actually took his life.

[This woman, and that woman too. Could it be that killing one’s adoptive father and taking his place is some kind of virtue for saint candidates? I had no idea the Holy State had such a beautiful custom.]

Beautiful, my ass.

The only place with such customs would be Ka’har.

“No, wait. Just a moment. You’re not joking, are you? Why would you do such a thing…?”

“Because I had to. Please calm down, I’ll explain everything.”

Agnes began to reveal her motive for the crime, trying to soothe Lacy, who looked as if she had a question mark floating above her head.

—-

“Cardinal Paulus… actually, I shouldn’t call him a cardinal. Such a title doesn’t suit a vile apostate who betrayed Menes.”

“What do you mean by…?”

“Paulus Eisen Hindenburg. He was worshipping a god other than Menes. While pretending to be a devout believer and deceiving everyone… in reality, he was worshipping Wodanaz, an ancient war god whose name is blasphemous to even mention. It may be hard to believe, but it’s true.”

This statement was ten times more shocking than her earlier confession of murder.

A cardinal of the Holy State worshipping an ancient god?

…That’s an apostle.

I could only exhale cigarette smoke blankly at the sudden revelation of the identity of the Second Apostle.

Paulus was the Second Apostle? And he’s already dead?

How could this be?

“Cardinal Paulus, a heretic worshipper……”

Lacy too seemed at a loss for words, muttering quietly.

“…Honestly, it’s hard to believe. What evidence do you have…?”

“Menes warned me. For some time, whenever I saw him, my stigmata would ache dully and convey an unpleasant feeling. Additionally, Menes sent me hints through dreams.”

…Stigmata had such a function?

It seems Lacy hadn’t noticed anything.

“Hey, Lacy. Your stigmata…”

“Ahem, Elpinel rarely communicates her will to the mortal realm. Perhaps because she resides in such a lofty place.”

Lacy, her earlobes turning red, seemed to guess my meaning and let out a short, fake cough.

So she didn’t know anything.

And in her mind, that was perfectly normal.

It seems the reason she had been falling behind in the saint competition even before creating the archdiocese wasn’t just because of her extremist religious theories.

“I thought it might be my imagination, so I kept watching Paulus without telling anyone… but after he finished his meeting with Lady Elmaine, I overheard him muttering to himself in his room, which confirmed my suspicions. Most of what he said was incomprehensible, talking about a Holy Grail plan and bringing down heaven… but I clearly heard the words ‘according to Wodanaz’s plan.'”

Agnes paused and smiled, revealing her canine teeth.

“So that evening, I approached him as usual, calmly, and slit his throat from behind. He must not have imagined that I would notice his apostasy, because he was completely defenseless. It was as easy as squashing a bug.”

The true culprit behind the cardinal’s assassination was finally revealed.

Even Lacy couldn’t hide her bewilderment at the truth of the incident, which no one could have predicted.